When the Twin Cities Film Fest, now in its fifth year, organizers pinpointed October as their chosen berth for the buffet of new films, it wasn’t arbitrary. TCFF executive director Jatin Setia said it was a very conscious decision to have the fest appear exactly six months after the more well-established MSPIFF. And, of course, there was one other major reason.

The fifth annual Twin Cities Film Fest kicks off Thursday in St. Louis Park. Some big fall movies will be screened, including “Wild” starring Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon as a woman hiking the Pacific Coast Trail to find herself, and “The Imitation Game,” with “Sherlock” star Benedict Cumberbatch playing World War II British code-breaker Alan Turing.

With autumn comes the start of the season for serious-minded movies, and the Twin Cities Film Fest just announced a slate that includes more than just a few movies that have awards bloggers all hot and bothered.

The Twin Cities Film Fest kicks off Thursday night with a screening of Alexander Payne’s new movie, “Nebraska.” Bruce Dern stars in “Nebraska” as a grumpy father who thinks he’s won a sweepstakes and takes his son, played by Will Forte, on a road trip to claim the prize.